06/21/2026
One of OCD’s greatest tricks is convincing us that our doubt came from reality.
But if we slow down and trace it back, we often discover something surprising:
The doubt didn’t begin with evidence.
It began with an imagined possibility.
“I washed my hands.”
⬇️
“But what if I missed something?”
⬇️
“What if I contaminate my family?”
⬇️
“What if someone gets sick because of me?”
Before long, we’re no longer responding to what is actually happening. We’re responding to a story our imagination created.
This is what Frederick Aardema calls The Doubt Illusion.
The solution isn’t finding more certainty.
It’s recognizing when you’ve crossed over from direct experience into imagination and gently returning to what you actually know, right here and now.
OCD thrives on “What if?”
Recovery begins with “What is.”
📖 If you struggle with OCD, I highly recommend The Doubt Illusion. It brilliantly illuminates how obsessional doubt is constructed and why trying to solve it only keeps us trapped in the story.
